


The Earth Beneath the Sun

by lovi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, I'll add more tags as I work on it I think, Multi, Revolution, Role-Playing Game, Soulmates, dude yeah this is kagehina, kinda but different, overthrowing the mf monarchy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25119829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovi/pseuds/lovi
Summary: Hinata Shouyou, a paladin, is living beneath the ever-growing gaze and power of their unfair king, just trying to sort out the mess his rule is making. Suddenly, an opportunity reaches him and the sky opens wide with possibilities as he sets out on a journey with an unlikely group who all share a similar goal: to get rid of the king once and for all.~ ~ ~BASICALLY a really long RPG/fantasy AU fic, this is incredibly indulgent so just hear me out
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	The Earth Beneath the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all!! This is gonna be a long one and I always back out of fics but I really want to stick by this one. I know a lot of really good characters are missing right now, I want to include them but am thinking about the plot and wondering if they would fit better in the second half. I'm sorry if any of yall's favorites are missing but they will come in eventually if you want to stick around.....
> 
> Also I know I listed a lot of relationships but some have either ended already or are unrequited, I'll let you guys figure out which are which.
> 
> Sidenote: I'll include their ages as we progress through this story, but all the characters are over 18 in this. No sex or anything, just wanted to throw that out there. This is a story about adults with some minor flashbacks into their childhood.
> 
> Thank you so much, and enjoy reading!!! :)

Chapter One: The Last Breeze of October

Hinata Shouyou could still remember that first desire to fight. The blood pumping through his veins as he ran; not stopping to think, but letting his heart take over. Skidding to a halt and pivoting around, facing what he was running from. A tug in the distance but a stronger tug forward. Panting, sweating, shaking, and looking up—eyes of fire staring through to your core, igniting the flame. Jumping, pouncing, pain lurching out through his chest and—

“Hinata, Hinata…. Hinata, are you paying attention?” Caramel eyes refocused and came back to earth as Hinata’s surroundings returned to him: he was in the forest, staked out behind a tree, facing his partner and friend, Tanaka Ryunosuke. The autumn leaves fell gently to the forest floor as a brisk breeze blew through, softly rustling the trees and leaving a sharp sting to his cheeks and nose. He pulled his cloak further up over his head. Thank god it was autumn, for he would typically stand out with his auburn hair; instead, he blended in with his surroundings, shaded and tinged with the colors of the fiery earth around him. He took a breath in through his nose and closed his eyes, letting the earth wash through him, and puffed it back out through his lips, letting his breath rise up like smoke. They were truly in the thick of Autumn at this point, as Hinata could not remember the last time he had seen his breath hang onto the air like that. It must’ve been last winter. Tanaka sighed.

“Hinata, if you’re not going to pay attention, at least pretend like you are. C’mon, wake up!” He hurriedly whispered, snapping Hinata back into focus.

“I’m here.” Hinata whispered, smiling lightly. Tanaka huffed out a laugh.

“Glad to hear it. Now keep up because I’m not gonna repeat myself.” Hinata nodded and sharpened his focus. “If you see anyone approach that is not wearing a red cloak, that’s most likely our guy. I’ll go for his legs and you try and grab his wrists. If he has any kind of weapon on him, you know what to do—” Tanaka gestured to Hinata, waiting for an answer.

“—control the arm and you control the weapon.” Tanaka smiled reassuringly, nodding and grinning widely.

“YES!! Ahh, you’re such a good student, I feel so lucky…” He sighed and relaxed, settling into his resting place.

They were not able to rest for long, however, for a constant, rhythmic sound had begun to stand out among the atmospheric noises of the forest. They both perked up and pulled their cloaks down, placing a foot down on the earth to prepare to launch into a sprint if necessary. A twig snapped. The sound shot into Hinata’s ear like an arrow and reverberated around the forest as a distant echo. For a brief second, the world grew quiet again. A bird could be heard taking flight in the distance.

Then, the footsteps began again. Hinata’s eyes remained sharp on the small cottage in front of them, and constantly darting over toward the chicken coop. Suddenly, the figure finally appeared, a medium-sized, dark shadow in front of them. _Blue cloak._ Hinata glanced over to Tanaka, who nodded with resolution and clenched his fist, an animal preparing to pounce. The man neared the chicken coop and opened the door—that was their cue.

In a flash, Tanaka bolted out from behind the tree and beelined directly for the man, while Hinata dashed off far to the left and rounded about keeping his eyes on their guy and sizing him up. _Medium height, medium weight, flinches at sudden movement and tends to lean towards the heels of his feet._ He thought, finishing off his flanking maneuver as Tanaka dove for the man’s ankles and knocked him off his balance, his arms flailing in the air. No knife, but he’ll probably have rope on him for the chickens. He zipped up behind him and quickly grabbed his left wrist, pivoting on his foot to distract the man while he grabbed the right and brought them together behind him.

“Hey, what the fuck? This is my house, these are my chickens! I’m just collecting eggs!”

“With what, a fucking rope?” Hinata reached into the man’s cloak pocket and pulled out a coil of rope, showing it off to Tanaka, who chuckled lightly.

“Hey, look Hinata, we don’t even have to use our own rope! Thanks for helping us out, man.” Tanaka stood up once Hinata had bound the crook’s wrists and slapped him on the back, leaning in closer. “Oh yeah, and by the way… we know the people who live here; and now, you owe them some money.” The man stuttered and struggled to find his words as the duo began to lead him away from the house and back down the forest path toward the town.

“Don’t you mean the king?” Hinata retorted.

“Huh?”

“The king—doesn’t he owe the king money now?” Tanaka paused, remembering the new law and sulking a little.

“Oh, yeah, right… Now where do you live?” The man sighed and gave directions while Hinata fiddled with the thumb on his free hand. They kept trudging forward. Their current king had not been in position long but had already royally fucked everything—Hinata couldn’t remember much about what life was like before the king but luckily he had the stories from Tanaka and his parents to keep his mind sharp.

Life before the king wasn’t perfect by any means, but it certainly wasn’t nearly as bad as it was now. People were starving, working themselves to the bone and coming home to no bed. Every winter sickness would descend upon the city’s and its satellite towns yet there would be no support from the monarchy, which left everything on the backs of healers and mages, who could only do so much at a time as they still needed to support themselves and stay alive to help. Out here, in a town further out, this disarray meant a rise in petty crimes and poverty. Men like today’s thief stealing chickens—most likely to get his own sustenance, but harming another struggling family in the process. The support and care that a small town should have had been completely dismantled, despite living in a time where they all shared these struggles. Hinata swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

The lopsided trio emerged from the forest and made a left-hand turn instead of going straight towards the town. They passed by several smaller cottages until the thief finally stammered “this one’s mine,” bringing them to a halt. A small, rickety wooden shack stood in front of them, looking like it could barely stand on its own foundations. There were no livestock out front or back and no crops growing; just unbelievably dry soil and a few tools scattered around. Hinata froze and Tanaka’s heart dropped—what were they doing asking this man for money? Did he even have anything substantial enough for it to count? Tanaka gulped, untying the man’s wrists and letting him walk back towards his house.

“Hey—” The man stopped, turning his head and sighing. Tanaka paused, trying to read his mood, and then cleared his throat and straightened his spine. “We all have things that are being stolen from us right now; we’re all struggling to get by—and I don’t plan on stealing anything from you. I don’t work for the king and neither do you: We stand on the same team.” Tanaka brought his fist up to his heart and bumped it twice. The man stayed in place, he wasn’t leaving. He turned around fully and faced the two of them.

“Thanks.” He locked eyes with Tanaka and shook his hands. He nodded towards Hinata and slowly retreated into his home, closing the door behind him. Tanaka took a deep breath and pushed it out in a big puff, pivoting on his heel and trudging away from the house back up the path. Hinata stumbled behind him, trying to catch up.

“Hey… hey! What was up with that?! He owed us money!” Hinata shouted, tripping over his feet a bit, creating a small cloud of dust as he finally caught up.

“He didn’t owe us shit. I’m fucking sick of this shit.” Tanaka seemed on edge.

“But he still was stealing their livestock, doesn’t that—”

“It doesn’t matter. He stole but he was stolen from. I can’t steal from the stolen, makes me sick. I need a drink.” He rubbed his temples. Hinata paused, his gears turning, then shook the thoughts out of his head and kept moving forward.

“Can I come with? I wanna know more, I need to understand what you’re saying.” Tanaka paused, looking back at Hinata and his messy red hair, his wide-blown eyes and small scrapes on his knees and cheek. He couldn’t help but smile and ruffle his hair.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go. You can only sit with me if you can beat me there though.” Tanaka took off at a sprint.

“Hey, no fair!! You got a head start!” Hinata shouted but smiled, shooting off like a rocket after him.

~ ~ ~

When the duo arrived at the pub, the sun was almost set. The air was becoming chillier and people were beginning to head back into their homes. Hinata barely made it to the building at the same time. They stood outside, catching their breath with their hands on their knees. Tanaka laughed.

“You’re always so damn fast. Lucky to be working with you.” Hinata kept his head down for a second to hide his blush, but his happiness shined through regardless. Tanaka swung the door open and held it, letting Hinata walk first into the warm atmosphere of the only drinking/food establishment in town. The yellow light and warm voices leaked through the doorway and danced across his face, and he suddenly felt overheated as he stepped through the threshold.

The room was full with people, talking and singing and drinking. The heat from the fireplace could be felt blazing from across the room, and the duo slipped into a table far in the corner by the fire. Hinata immediately began to shed his layers of clothing and sank into his chair, exhausted from the day’s activities. Tanaka tossed his cloak over the back of his chair and sat down, looking around for someone. His face sudden lit up.

“Suga! Sugawara, over here!” He stood up, lifting himself halfway out of his chair and waving his arms around. Hinata squinted and scoped out the crowd, both of them relaxing when their silver-haired friend, Sugawara Koushi, began darting through the crowd and settled by their table, leaning over the table with his palms sprawled flat over the surface.

“Hey guys, what’s happening?” He smiled kindly. Sugawara made it difficult to tell whether the warmth of the room was pervading him or emanating from within him. Hinata looked up at him in wonder; even when sweaty, tired and overworked, Sugawara looked beautiful. Tanaka blushed and laughed in the most comfortable discomfort.

“Nothing new. Odd situation today; things get stranger by the day, I swear.” Sugawara nodded, running his hand through his hair.

“Tell me about it.” The two of them were seated directly beside a window, which showcased the street on the left side of the pub. Outside, three men on tall horses patrolled down the street, all clad in the same clothing. Sugawara kept his eyes glued on them from his side of the dew-dusted glass. “Don’t you think that’s strange? What are they doing out past sunset, let alone all the way out here? We’re at least a weeks-worth of travel away from the city.”

Tanaka leaned over to peer out the window and shook his head, speaking under his breath, “The king and his men are all cowards. They grow paranoid when they think someone’s out to get them.” Tanaka gazed out the window, thinking about how things have changed, and the inevitability of their situation. He turned back around and accidentally locked eyes with Sugawara, who sensed his nerves and smiled with as much warmth as he could muster. He could always tell when Tanaka’s thoughts would trail off like that, immediately tethering him back to the earth. Suga was kind like that.

“So, what made today so odd—Oh, wait! Do you guys want anything to drink?” Sugawara picked his pitcher back up off the table next to them and grabbed two mugs from his waistband. Tanaka slammed his fists against the table and Hinata laughed loudly.

“YESSSSS!!!!!” Sugawara chuckled and filled up both mugs and placed them on the table. Both of them started drinking heartfully and then slammed their cups back on the table, letting out a breath they hadn’t even realized they’d been holding in.

“So! Now that you’re all acquainted… what happened today? Anything terribly troubling?” Tanaka shook his head.

“No, nothing violent or physically exhausting, just… another civilian petty theft.” Sugawara’s eyes widened slightly for a second and then went back to his somewhat relaxed state.

“Did you collect any money?”

“No, and I’m not sure if I’m even gonna ask for any from the family that hired us. Times are different.” Tanaka ran his hand through what little hair he had, moreso ghosting it over his fuzzy scalp, feeling the small strands tickle his palm. “I just can’t even remember the last time I was hired by someone for a state-related crime, it feels like it’s been years.” His eyes glossed over in reminiscence before starkly snapping back into reality. “Now it’s all civilian-vs-civilian. And their all struggling, on all sides. You know, Hinata—” Hinata’s little face shot up among the crown of fire on his head. “You can’t be a paladin unless you’re fighting for the right cause, right?” His face looked sullen as he took another swig from his mug. Sugawara sat down beside Hinata, exchanging glances with him. _It’s okay_ —Sugawara’s gaze spoke for itself— _he’s okay._

“Hey.” Sugawara reached across the table and grabbed Tanaka’s hand, making him look up. “You are no kingsman, you are no soldier. You reside in my heart—you reside in here.” Sugawara hands gestured to his heart, but his energy gestured to the room; the people in it, the walls and foundations holding it up. “You always do the right thing—you always follow your heart and the hearts of those around you. Plus,” he lowered his voice and leaned in across the table, “The river will keep flowing until you bar it. We can’t stop this alone.” Hinata looked up, did he hear that right? What was Sugawara going on about?

Whatever Sugawara was saying had worked, though. Tanaka perked up, smiling and gripping the edge of the table. “Sugaaaaaa!!!!!” He practically jumped on top of the table, trying to hug the silver-haired man across and nearly spilling his drink in the process. Hinata felt a little out of the loop, but smiled nonetheless: his partner – his _friend_ – was happy. He looked truly happy. The room was warm and they stayed for a while before heading home.

~ ~ ~

A blue-violet mist surrounded the earth in the dead of night; the soil was barren and empty. Hinata walked along the ground, the soles of his boots crunching into the dry earth below, but leaving no echo. There were no houses in the village, only the forgotten foundations of buildings that once existed. Suddenly, a heavier crunch echoed through the dark. “Who’s there?!” He shouted into the distance, not sure where to aim his efforts. Suddenly, as if he had summoned it, a tall ultraviolet pillar shot up from the earth and spoke to him—

—“I Am no who.” Fear struck Hinata’s innermost core but his spirit carried him forward, closer to the pillar. Upon approaching, Hinata realized its form was slightly waving—but there was no wind: he was at last face-to-face with this apparition and realized it was no apparition at all, but a tall overgrowth of small purple flowers. He reached his hands out and placed them palms-first upon the flowers, attempting to caress them and get a closer look. Suddenly, all the wind the barren plain was lacking congregated and flanked him on all sides, cascading upon him like a waterfall. His breath was stripped from his lungs.

Hinata woke in the middle of the night, nearly gasping for air.

Just as he woke, however, he heard the click of the front door. Who was that?

His pulse was already fast enough to propel him out of bed and out of his room as he moved light as a soft breeze, barely walking on the balls of his feet. He went out into their shared space, peeking around the corner, yet seeing no one. The door was closed. He ventured back towards Tanaka’s room and found it empty: no one was in bed. Hinata peered out the window and saw Tanaka’s tall frame striding down the empty street—What time was it? Why was he out in the cold and where was he going? Without thinking, Hinata quickly dressed, lacing up his boots and dashing out the door, no cloak. He ran quickly and as quietly as he could on his toes down the street, where a light snow had begun to dust the ground—the first snow of the season. As he continued to round the corners, following the only other footsteps on the ground, he heard a door close down the block and followed until he reached said building.

It was Sugawara’s pub. What was Tanaka doing here so late? They had just been there earlier, and was the pub even open at this time of night?? The candles were lit, but not nearly as many as there were during its prime hours. He went to go peer in through the window, but the curtains were tightly drawn.

After about twenty minutes or so of standing outside of the pub and half-freezing, Hinata sighed and knew his curiosity would only allow him to do one thing, and that was to enter the pub and eavesdrop. He quietly opened the pub door and sneaked in through the smallest possible crack, closing the door gently behind him. Luckily, Hinata could truly be as quiet as a mouse if he wanted to. He crept down the small hallway, honestly just happy to be sheltered from the nip of the cold, and stood so that he was nearly in the room, but both he and his shadow were still hidden from the sight of the others.

He could pick up on several different voices, one after the next, clearly involved in an important discussion:

“So, are we really doing this?” The voice stood out clear as day: it was Tanaka. “If we are, I am all in, but I cannot commit unless it’s a promise…” He sounded both unsure and resolute, in the unique way a big decision can make you.

“If we do not start now, we are dust.” Now this was certainly Sugawara, but he sounded different, more… honest? No, decisive?

No. He just sounded in his element, was all.

“… and if we can’t begin to plan now, we are dust scattered to the _wind_.” The whole room grew quiet. Hinata suddenly felt a chill rush through his body, like a cold and powerful wind. He looked up, directly across the room, and locked eyes with a stranger who was descending the steps that lead into Sugawara’s home. He had jet-black hair, and even from across the room, Hinata could see that he had rich, deeply-colored eyes. He was clad in loosely-fitting clothes that almost didn’t appear to be his own, and was clutching one of Sugawara’s metal drinking cups. The distance between them felt threatening, like an unstable atmosphere about to burst, and Hinata almost felt overwhelmed. The man blinked twice, as if breaking through an apparition of sorts, and snuck quietly behind the bar, where Hinata could hear him filling up a glass of water. Hinata tried to turn his attention back to the conversation at hand but struggled to focus with all this new information swimming around in his head.  
At last, the colorless blur of light sound broke as the mysterious man spoke: “I can help.”

Tanaka spoke up, in a borderline mocking tone. “Oh yeah, what can you do?” There was a slight rustle and a hesitant whisper from someone in the group—the reassuring energy of its placement felt reminiscent of Sugawara.

“I can shoot.” The man spoke again. Hinata could see him and he looked as if he was bound to burst, the energy threatening to shoot out from his fingertips and fill the room to the ceiling. What was this guy’s deal?

“ _Prove it._ ” Sugawara, for sure. There was another noise of movement and a slight creak, followed by the clatter of wooden sticks; someone (Hinata was guessing Sugawara) had tossed this man a quiver and bow. Hinata’s eyes were glued to the man as the room grew silent. The man found his target, facing the fireplace and aiming directly at the painting above it. His eyes were incredibly focused, as he stood both stiff as stone and fluid as water, until something shifted in him and his fingers released: quickly reaching for another arrow as soon as the first was set into motion, yet never looking down; keeping his eyes directly where he wanted the arrows to go.

The sound was broken and silence sat among its remains. For Hinata, some glass jar had been shattered and released all the color and energy that man must’ve been holding within himself. He stood proud and… was that the faintest of smiles? The man turned to face the others, his eyes passing over Hinata one more time before settling on the group before him. A strong current rushed in through the hole in Hinata’s chest and took over his body, and the man stood taller than the tallest man ever could, breathing in deeply.

“I want to kill the king.”


End file.
